Tag time

I have been invited to play Tag for the first time in years (actually we used to call it ‘Tig’ so I think I may be a Tag virgin). This is not an award, but a symbol of friendship between bloggers, according to the lovely Taking Candy From A Baby.

(It took me ages to realise this didn’t say ‘Gluten’.)

The Rules of The Game

1. Post the rules.

2. Answer the questions. (You might be wise to answer more succinctly than I have; I got a bit carried away)

3. Create 11 new questions.

4. Tag 11 people with the post.

5. Let them know you tagged them.

(Unofficial 6. Hope that people will bother reading your post even with its chain mail element.)

Here goes…

1. What made you decide to blog in the first place?

Simple really: I missed using my brain. It did require quite a lot of nagging encouragement from my pushy lovely friends though. I’ll admit I did rather question peoples’ motives for exposing their lives for all to see…but now I’ve started, I never want to stop! It’s such a cathartic process; even more so than writing a private diary because you generate a relationship with your readers: ‘It’s like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket.’ (Harry Potter quotations always have relevance in every day life. Though actually, my bum isn’t quite big enough to fit a laptop in the back pocket of my jeans!)

2. If you could pick one person in the world who you would like to read your blog (or something else you’ve written)…who would it be, and why?

It would be someone influential in the publishing world…who was drunk enough at the time of reading to mistake my writing style for something that could sell books. I would love to write something besides this – a novel perhaps – but I am not strong enough to take the rejection and failure that would likely result. I love knowing that an average of nearly 250 people read each blog post I write – it seems an insanely huge figure to me and gives me a massive boost of confidence. But even I am not naïve enough to imagine that to be a large number in the grand scheme of things, nor in any scheme of things!

3. What is your favourite quote?

The first one that comes to mind, however pointless, is: ‘Well you’ll be missed. You’ve done well…no matter what people say.’ It’s from the film Waking Ned. I wrote the latter part on my brother’s Facebook wall when he passed an exam – I looked like such a caring big sister!

From Question 1 it is clear that I am a Harry Potter fan. I have all the audio CDs and listen to them on loop to send me to sleep at night. Probably something I shouldn’t really publicise…and possibly a reason why I only require a single bed. It has resulted in me knowing all the books pretty much off by heart. Challenge me to an HP quote contest and we will see who wins! …hmm actually I think in that case there would be no winners; only losers.

I am terrible at memorizing song lyrics, but for some reason I can recall most of the important quotes we had to learn for our English Lit set texts…and also most of the unimportant ones. One of the limited (I promise!) times that I have laughed at Sam when he was crying, was when he was bawling about something or other and I had no clue what the matter was. As he had just started learning to talk, I desperately said ‘Just tell me what’s wrong, Sam; use your words!’ and his sobbing reply: ‘Words. Words. Worrrrrrrrrrds!’ – a budding Hamlet actor!

4. If you had the chance for one major “do over” in life, what would it be?

Oh this one is hard! Most of the decisions I’d want to change would result in Sam not coming into existence, and obviously I wouldn’t want to risk that. But if I could be sure he would magically pop into my womb in January 09, I would want to do over my time at uni. Have a good time – that goes without saying – but also realise that growing up and gaining independence is not solely about being free to have a drink without being told off. I wish I’d had a job throughout my years at uni, instead of just at the end, and I wish I’d taken my course more seriously (and chosen to do English Lit).

5. Who is one writer, or book, that made you rethink the way you were living your life?

Oh gosh, another tricky one. I am ashamed to say I rarely read at the moment: I absolutely love it; I think it’s the ultimate luxury…but I’ve got into a bad habit of finishing my chores and then slouching down in front of the TV. Wow, I really don’t think I can answer this one! Great question though, I will give it some thought.

6. What is one word you would use to describe yourself? Would your closest family or friends use the same word?

Fool. And yes, they do quite frequently!

7. What kind of things really make you laugh?

Pretty much anything Sam says or does at the moment; he’s a right little joker. In fact, I taught him the joke; ‘What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? ….. Nacho cheese!’; and he is now able to say it on demand. He also knows a ‘Knock knock’ joke which he does brilliantly…but he always makes up his own punch line (which, although irrelevant to what he’s said before, is 100% funnier to watch than the one I taught him).

8. Where is your favourite place in the world?

Bed. For all the reasons.

9. Do you have a nickname? What is the story behind it?

Since I had my hair cut I have been ‘Bob’…but the only nickname that stands the test of time is ‘Tubby’. He claims he only started calling me it when I got pregnant…but even so, to continue it after I dropped that extra 3 stone is rather insulting. He must be a good guy though, because, despite this, I still consider him one of my closest friends!

10. Have you figured out your life calling? What is it?

No I haven’t. I occasionally become convinced that I know what I should be doing with myself but I don’t have the 3 D’s to follow it through: Destination, Determination, Deliberation. (Oh HP you are the cornerstone of my life!)

11. What is one question you really wish people would ask you?

I don’t have a single question. But here are some options for you to jot down:

How do you manage to be such a wonderful mother? Sam is clearly a result of your fantastic mothering and not, as many people argue, simply the luck of the draw that you’ve just managed to breed a naturally ‘good’ child.

Would you like to go on a night out/theatre trip/theme park/cinema/bingo/ice hockey/paintballing/ANYTHING at the weekend? I hear your parents would love to babysit without you having to feel guilty, and Sam will have a nice time…but not so nice that he doesn’t want to come home with you the next day.

Would you mind if I give you a whole roomful of money?

Goodness gracious, have you lost weight? No one would guess you ate a whole block of Spam last night as if it was an apple.

Oh gosh, I have just seen I was tagged by Momma’s Money Matters too. I was treating this as an in-depth discovery into the workings of my mind (lucky you!) but I will try and answer these questions as briefly as possible…

At uni our get-ready-to-go-out tune was ‘Gold’ by Spandau Ballet. The meaning of the song isn’t particularly revealing about me…particularly as I just looked at the lyrics for the first time and it seems almost every word I have hollered out in the past has been wrong.

‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry and the Peacemakers seemed the PERFECT song when I was pregnant. I felt so so alone; I was recently single, my relationship with my family had been shattered, and my friends were amaaaaazing but no one could truly know how I felt. I listened to this song over and over (and over) in those 9 months while I was waiting for the sweet silver song of my lark J

7. Who was your first celebrity crush, and how did you get over it?

The young one in ‘Hanson’ and Aaron Carter, both merely because I was given a free copy of TV Hits and they looked closest to my age. How times have changed, eh? These days I only seem to like people who are 10 years or more older than me!

8. What movie should you have been the star, and why are you the obvious choice?

As I’ve mentioned it before, I think I should have been in ‘Waking Ned’. There is a single girl in it with an illegitimate son…and they end up rich from winning the lottery. Seems rather perfect!

9. Who is the last person to make you smile?

Sam. I have had no other human interaction for the past four hours!

10. What is the most influential book you have read?

Influential in what way? The Aeneid influenced me to choose Classics as my degree subject, and it undoubtedly had influence in how books are written today. Yes, I think I shall leave it at that. Sounds a lot more impressive than ‘I heart Harry Potter 4eva’!

11. Have you ever done something for the adrenaline rush?

I lurrrve adrenaliney things. My friend and I did a skydive – officially for charity – but to be absolutely honest it was the anticipation of excitement that was my driving force. I’m not the greatest with heights but I’ve done a fair bit of climbing, abseiling, high wires and the like…and have got such a buzz from it. Sam’s ceiling had a leak when we first moved in and I secretly loved hanging my whole body out the window to investigate! When the fair came to town, I struggled to drag Sam off the rides and I’m hoping this means I can mould him into being a theme park goer. Paintballing.

So here are your questions. They go from frivolous to deep…with some selfish questions about me in the middle!

Would you prefer to live on a canal boat or in a caravan?

Which comedian would you most like tickets to see?

What food would you want to be served at your last supper?

What do you think to the celebrity trend of choosing bizarre names for their offspring? And some of us ‘norms’ following suit?

Which TV show from your childhood do you wish could be around today for the new generation to appreciate?

Have you got any fun Easter traditions?

Should I buy the largest shed I can afford so I have the optimum storage facility, or buy something small that’ll be easier to transport if we move house?

How do you suggest I stop myself devouring the entire contents of my fridge each evening?

Did you read this post or just skim through in order to find the questions at the end?!

Do you believe in God or have any other spiritual beliefs?

Are there any circumstances under which you would have an abortion/encourage your partner to have one?

Some of you may be a little confused why I have tagged you as we haven’t yet established a bloggy relationship…but I just wanted to say I like your blog and this is my hand of friendship…

EDIT: I can’t believe I missed this, but the wonderful Cupcake Mumma (who is an excellent blogger and has the prettiest page) tagged me in something very similar to this a couple of weeks ago. Here are my very brief answers:

1, What is the nicest thing you have ever done for someone? It’s questionable that I’ve ever done anything nice without an ulterior motive!

2. What are you most of proud of in your life? Sambob

3. How long have you been blogging? Since November (5 months…God that’s flown!)

4. What is your favourite time of year and why? Summer for the sun, Autumn for the colours, Winter for Christmas. Sorry Spring.

5. If you were to go and cook something right now, what would it be? Millionaire’s Shortbread – Sam and I picked it out last night as our baking project for today.

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5 Comments

I love your answers 😉 I am going to sky dive with one of my daughters when she comes back tot he US next year…she is getting married this month. And believe me, that is a surge of adrenaline I would truly like to stifle!
Red.

Oh, and kindergarten is age 5/6 (some students here can begin it at age 4).